The Periodic Table of Business Strategy is a structural taxonomy that defines the finite set of business models, strategies, and competitive advantages that can exist within a Strategic Formula. Its purpose is not to recommend actions or prescribe outcomes, but to provide a shared language for describing what a business is actually doing.
By separating business models, strategies, and competitive advantages into distinct, named elements, the Periodic Table eliminates common sources of confusion in strategy discussions. It makes explicit distinctions that are often blurred in practice—such as confusing a revenue model with a strategy, or mistaking operational excellence for competitive advantage.
Within the Strategic Formula System, the Periodic Table serves as the classification layer. It defines the allowable elements that can appear in any strategic formula, enabling consistent analysis, comparison, and reasoning across companies, industries, and time.
The Periodic Table of Business Strategy was created by Eric D. Noren to address a recurring problem in strategy work: the lack of a shared, precise vocabulary for describing how businesses actually operate and compete.
The table was developed through applied analysis across multiple industries and organizational contexts, and refined through repeated use in real-world company evaluations. Its structure reflects an intentional effort to impose order and comparability on a domain where similar concepts are often labeled differently—and different concepts are often labeled the same.
The Periodic Table is not an analogy or metaphor. It is a deliberate classification system designed to support clear strategic reasoning and reduce semantic drift in discussions of business models, strategy, and advantage.
The Periodic Table of Business Strategy enables clarity before judgment. By naming the elements present in a company’s Strategic Formula, it becomes possible to describe strategy without immediately evaluating it.
In analytical contexts, the table allows strategists and operators to:
In design and scenario-planning contexts, the Periodic Table functions as a bounded option space. Because the set of elements is finite and defined, teams can explore alternative formulas without inventing new categories or relying on vague abstractions. This makes it possible to test strategic hypotheses while preserving comparability and structural discipline.
The table does not explain why a given formula compounds or fails, nor does it assess vulnerability to AI. Those roles are handled by other components of the Strategic Formula System.
The Periodic Table of Business Strategy is not a list of best practices or recommendations. The presence of an element does not imply superiority, maturity, or correctness.
It is not a step-by-step method for execution. The table defines structure, not process, and does not describe how to operate or optimize a business.
It is not infinitely extensible or customizable. The value of the table comes from its fixed vocabulary; adding or renaming elements undermines comparability across analyses.
It is not sufficient on its own to explain performance differences. The Periodic Table defines what elements are present, not how they interact over time or how exposed they are to AI-driven change.
The Periodic Table of Business Strategy is one of three core components of the Strategic Formula System.
Within the system:
The essays linked below apply the Periodic Table in practice, showing how it is used to describe real companies and industries without collapsing strategy into slogans, trends, or outcomes.
